15 Overlooked Facts From ’90s Movies That’ll Make You Love Them Even More

12/09/2017

The ’90s was a weird and wonderful decade. Movies ruled the entertainment industry, and the stars were living life wild and unchecked. We would pay for movies multiple times—first at the theater, then rented a VHS or DVD copy, and then paid the ridiculous late fees. It was glorious. The movies were fantastic too. We were seeing things that we never would have thought possible. Special effects were reaching new heights and comedy was evolving. But more than anything else, ’90s films represent a nostalgic period for many of us. Watching a movie that you remember watching as a kid has a very strange transporting effect. For that reason alone, many of us return to these movies throughout the years. It doesn’t hurt that we know them extremely well. Some, we even memorized; but there are details about these films that not everyone knows, details that might even improve them for you.

Claiming that these are overlooked facts is just an easy way of saying details or behind-the-scenes information that most people are not familiar with. This information isn’t really hidden. Most of it has been said in interviews and DVD commentaries. Some of it is right there in the film, right in front of your eyes, but you just never noticed it. These facts are sometimes small and silly, but that kind of detail can really brighten up and silly movie. Well, we’re bringing these right to you in the hopes that it reminds you to watch the movie again or maybe even gives you a reason to go back. Here are 15 Overlooked Facts From ’90s Movies That Will Make You Love Them Even More.

15. Dirt In Waterworld

Even though Waterworld has received a lot of criticism since it was first released, it still is a lot of fun to watch. We get that there is going to be a large segment of the population who hate the movie, but it’s a guilty pleasure for many film fans out there—a group that we’re proud members of. The one overlooked fact in this film is a moment that is sort of glossed over, but we want to highlight the hilarity of the details in the scene. You see, this movie is beautiful because it’s impossibly ridiculous. Just as when Kevin Costner is able to trade soil from the sea floor, a valuable commodity in Waterworld, for a range of supplies for his journey, the gem of the other side of this trade is a tomato plant, a tomato plant which is potted in dirt. No wonder times are hard for the vendor; she’s trading a small batch of soil for more soil, plus a plant.

14. Wayne’s World And Bohemian Rhapsody

It may be hard to imagine a world where Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody isn’t a mammoth hit, but that’s kind of the world we were living in in North America before Wayne’s World. Obviously, people knew the song. It was number one in the UK in 1975, and it was a top 10 hit in the U.S., but it wasn’t until after it appeared in Wayne’s Worldin that incredibly iconic scene that it catapulted to #2 in the U.S., 17 years after the song was first released. According to Mike Myers, it was a must-have in the film. “I fought very, very hard for Bohemian Rhapsody,” he said. “At that time, the public had kind of forgotten about Queen a little bit. [Producer] Lorne [Michaels] was suggesting Guns N Roses—I don’t even remember the song—because at the time, Guns N Roses had a number one song. I said, “I hear you. I think that’s really smart,” but I didn’t have any jokes for a Guns N Roses song. I had lots of jokes for “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It’s just inherently comedic.”

13. Forrest Gump’s Mystery Line

There’s a subtle movement online that is trying to rewrite the history of Forrest Gump. People have begun whispering about this wonderful film, calling it overrated and other dirty words. That’s nonsense. The movie is fantastic. And that’s all we have to say about that. In the film, there’s a moment that had people guessing since the film came out. Forrest gets up to speak at the Vietnam protest rally but his mic cuts out as he talks. What does Forrest say here? Are we supposed to know? Well, no and yes. Tom Hanks has told us, and the answer is perfectly Gump. According to Hanks, the line was, “Sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes they don’t go home at all. That’s a bad thing. That’s all I have to say about that.”

12. Men In Black And The Gross Lemonade

In Men in Black, there is a subtle little scene that just proves how much the filmmakers were paying attention. Sometimes, it’s these small details that make a film. Anyway, the big bad Edgar is alienified and needs sugar to sustain himself. He demands that his wife give him all the sugar in the house. Later, when Agent J and K arrive at the farmhouse, they are invited inside for some lemonade. They accept. When J tries the lemonade, he recoils and spits it back in the glass. We think it’s just because it’s gross, but there’s a reason—there was no sugar.

11. Dumb And Dumber And The Most Annoying Sound Improvised

It really isn’t all that hard to see that a lot of the film Dumb and Dumber is adlibbed. The banter is just so organic, and there are several moments when the stars appear to be stifling laughter. It adds to the film’s charm. The scene that has Jim Carrey ask “Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?” was one of these moments. Knowing that makes Jeff Daniels‘ reaction to the sound that much better. There’s also the Big Gulps scene in which Carrey exits a convenience store and sees two guys drinking Big Gulps. He says, “Hey guys. Whoa Big Gulps huh? Alight! Welp, see ya later.” It’s a strange and funny exchange, but it turns out that the two guys weren’t even extras at this point. They were just drinking Big Gulps and Carrey decided to interact with them.

10. Terminator 2 And The Double

We truly believe that one of the most interesting movie trivia tidbits comes from Terminator 2: Judgement Day. The scene in question is the one that has Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) reprogramming the Terminator by performing a surgery on his head. In the shot, we see a mirror reflecting the action, with the Terminator giving instructions to Sarah as she works. Incredibly, the camera is not visible in the mirror reflection. But how? Well, there is no mirror. The reason we see two Sarahs is because one is played by Linda Hamilton‘s identical twin sister, Leslie.

9. Shawshank Redemption Baseball Scene

Honestly, we’re not sure that the knowledge of what happened behind this scene will make Shawshank Redemption any better for you, but it sure does for us. This is just such a hilarious behind-the-scenes fact that we laugh just thinking about it. Let’s go to the moment in which Andy and Red meet for the first time. Red is throwing a baseball around in the yard and Andy approaches him and asks him if he can get him a rock hammer. Now, this is a long scene. Apparently, the shooting of the scene had several complications and the different angles needed meant it took a while to get it all done (as many as nine hours). That meant that Red was throwing that damn ball around for nine hours. Even though he looked comfortable, it is said that when Morgan Freeman arrived on set the next day, he had his arm in a sling.

8. Good Will Hunting Laughter

This fact has been mentioned a few times online, but we love it and we want to ensure that everyone learns about it. The film is Good Will Hunting and the scene is the one that Robin Williams gets Matt Damon laughing hysterically. He’s telling him about how his wife farts in her sleep, if you’re struggling to remember. Well, we get two different angles of the scene—one facing Damon and the other facing Williams. You might have noticed that the one facing Damon as Williams tells the story is shaking pretty noticeably. Even though Damon’s head is moving, the camera movement is impossible to miss. This is due to the cameraman laughing, but since the story was adlibbed and Damon’s genuine laughter was so incredible, they kept the scene in the final cut.

7. Learning From Heat

Perhaps this fact isn’t overlooked. It’s much more likely to be unknown than anything else, but it’s so damn interesting that we had to include it. The movie in question is Heat, one of the best films of the ’90s. The film is not just great for the acting and the script. Even the choreography of the fight and flight scenes is brilliant. In fact, some of the scenes in the film have been used as training videos for various levels of law enforcement. Other scenes get highlighted to demonstrate the accurate and safe methods for retreating under fire as well

Advertising

as how to properly reload and handle automatic weapons. Val Kilmer explains that the military has shown the clip of him reloading his rifle under fire to training groups and said that they better be able to reload faster than this actor.

6. Timing In Fargo

Fargo is such an incredible film and it has only become more popular as the TV show has reached an entirely new generation. But it takes many viewings to catch all the moments of mastery in the film. The one “fact” that we want to discuss helps illuminate how meticulous the details in the film are. It comes with 30 minutes left in the film. In actuality, there is exactly 30 minutes left in the film when a phone conversation between Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Jerry (William H. Macy) takes place. On the call, Carl says, “30 minutes, Jerry. We wrap this up.” As soon as that line is delivered, start your timers because exactly 30 minutes later, the film is wrapped up.

5. Jurassic Park And The Buckles

We couldn’t, in good conscience, make a list about ’90s movies and leave out perhaps the most ’90s of all movies, Jurassic Park. But what detail or fact is there that people still don’t know? Not many, but maybe this one. It comes near the beginning, when the gang is just arriving on the island. In the helicopter, Dr. Alan Grant attempts to buckle his seatbelt but discovers only two female-sided buckles. Rather than just leave himself unbuckled entirely, he simply ties the two ends together to form a makeshift buckle. Incredibly, this is a concept that comes into play later when “life, uh, finds a way.” On the island, even though all the dinosaurs are created female to stop any mating, they still manage to create life.

4. The Kid In Groundhog Day

Ahh, Groundhog Day. We’ve all probably seen it a million times, so is there anything we don’t already know? How could it get better? Well, once again, this is attention to detail that impresses us. Remember that kid that falls out of the tree and Bill Murraycatches him? He never thanks Bill. Since we know that Bill doesn’t always follow the same routine, we have to wonder what would have happened to the kid if he didn’t get caught during that massive fall. Amazingly, we find out. We just didn’t catch it. If the kid doesn’t get caught, he appears to only break his leg (though he may have grievous internal injuries). In the scene that has Murray go to the hospital when the homeless man dies, in the background, we can see that little rascal. He’s in a wheelchair and has a casted-up leg.

3. Sixth Sense And The Graveyard

Like so many of M. Night Shyamalan‘s movies, it’s become hip to make fun of them. Well, we won’t indulge you. We think his movies are awesome. We thought they were great when they were first made, and they still hold up today. In The Sixth Sense, there’s a scene that has Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment traveling by bus. Though we’re mainly concerned with their conversations, there is something small but interesting that happens in the background. At one point on the ride, Osment takes a little gasp and looks away from the bus window. We don’t necessarily see what he sees, but as the bus passes, there is a cemetery visible in the background. We can only assume that he saw quite a few ghosties there and didn’t like what he saw.

2. Going In Opposite Directions In Fight Club

Fight Club is a movie that is filled with little bits of trivia and hidden details. The problem is that these are so widely circulated that it seems like no one ever learns anything new about the film. Well, there is one interesting fact that most people overlook and never notice, and it has to do with the psychical condition of the stars. We know the twist. But did you know that the film was shot in chronological order? This is important because during filming, Brad Pitt worked out and got more tanned as the shoot wore on, and all the while, Edward Norton did the opposite, avoiding the sun and food as much as possible. The result is seeing one get stronger while the other fades away.

1. Building Animosity In Saving Private Ryan

Steven Spielberg has always tried new ways of helping his actors get into character. For Saving Private Ryan, he wanted to create some mixed feelings between the actors playing the rescuers and Matt Damon. This is because the characters are risking their lives to save a soldier that they don’t even know. It’s an awkward situation for everyone. Well, to help accomplish this, Spielberg had each of the cast members playing soldiers participate in a strenuous boot camp of sorts. This would help them get into the mindset and also make it hard on them. He put everyone through this except for Matt Damon. Reason being, he wanted to keep them separate but also create some feelings of animosity between the group and Damon, hoping that it would bleed onto the screen.